Compiled by Julie Lefevre and Nick Robinson
Institute of Governmental Studies Library
University of California at Berkeley
In 1998, in one of the greatest landslides in California history, Gray Davis beat Dan Lungren by 20 points. The new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California has Arnold Schwarzenegger ahead of Phil Angelides by 17.
The latest sounding on the governor’s race. And on other issues: the governor’s approval rating is at 48, the housing bond issue looks stronger than the others, the president at only 29 percent approval, and Feinstein a sure bet.
Schwarzenegger Holds 10-Point Lead; Schwarzenegger approval; Housing bond; Bush approval; Feinstein.
The Economic Roundtable and the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty outline a strategy for ending homelessness in Los Angeles — an ambitious goal to say the least.
10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness
The libertarian Reason Foundation weighs in on various election-related issues:
Water; Affordable Housing; Transportation; Propositions; Bonds; Prop. 1B
More than 70 percent of city officials in California say their cities are in better fiscal shape this year than last. And more than 60 percent predict an even rosier picture next year. This from a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Perspectives on Local and State Finance and Infrastructure in California
Amazingly, the economy of Los Angeles County has more workers than 42 states. So what happens there matters, both for the state and the nation. The California Budget Project finds that in terms of job growth and wages, the mega-county is falling behind the rest of the state.
Left Behind: Workers and Their Families in a Changing Los Angeles
With the voters facing more than $40 billion in bond issues on the November ballot, the Public Policy Institute of California has a primer on bond financing.
The Public Policy Institute of California compares its polling data from this year to past years, and finds that the state’s partisan divide has widened on many issues. For example, in the past eight years the percentage of Democrats who think it is the responsibility of government to take care of those who can’t take care of themselves has gone up by 10 points. Among Republicans, support for that idea has dropped a hair.
The California-based Reason Foundation finds that drinkers earn more than teetotallers. Their educated guess is that drinking gives you more social capital (i.e., more friends and business connections and the like) and that this leads to higher earnings. So make an investment in yourself: Go get a drink.
No Booze? You May Lose: Why Drinkers Earn More Money Than Nondrinkers